Most played competitive visual novels

Dialogue-heavy stories meet head-to-head contests in these competitive visual novels people are playing most right now. You can read through long arcs in BlazBlue Centralfiction and Persona 4 Arena Ultimax before testing fighters against real opponents, or guide exiles through team rituals in Pyre where the plot moves on whether you win or lose.

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1. Umamusume: Pretty Derby

   

   As a trainer you raise horse girls inspired by real racers, from Special Week to Gold Ship, through training, races, and live commentary to a winner's concert. Worth playing for the character stories and the slow build from hopeful trainee to first-place finish.

   93%93% of 61,794 Steam reviews are positive10.6KPlayers online now: 10,556Free

2. BlazBlue Centralfiction

   

   BlazBlue Centralfiction closes the Azure Saga with a long, dialogue-heavy story mode attached to a fast 2D fighter. Pick from 35 anime-inspired fighters, then read through the hidden truth of the world, side stories and gag reels between bouts. Worth playing for the ending and the lore if you like story with your fighting.

   94%94% of 9,605 Steam reviews are positive379Players online now: 379$39.99

3. The Eminence in Shadow: Master of Garden

   

   A party action RPG built for readers: you follow Cid pretending to be a background schemer while Shadow Garden grows around him, through retold anime scenes plus game-only stories. Expect long voiced chapters and quiet 1-on-1 chats over battles you build and grind through.

   69%69% of 638 Steam reviews are positive191Players online now: 191Free

4. Persona 4 Arena Ultimax

   

   A fighting game with a visual novel inside it. You read long illustrated story chapters following the Persona 3 and Persona 4 casts through the P-1 Climax, a fighting tournament broadcast on the Midnight Channel, with occasional one-round battles. Best if you already know those characters and want more time with them.

   87%87% of 3,925 Steam reviews are positive58Players online now: 58$29.99

5. Pyre

   

   Pyre is a party-based RPG about leading exiles across a mystical purgatory called the Downside. You read long stretches of dialogue, get to know a large cast, and guide them through three-on-three Rites where you carry an orb into the enemy pyre.

   90%90% of 8,417 Steam reviews are positive15Players online now: 15$19.99

6. Fate/EXTELLA

   

   After the Holy Grail War, Nero holds the throne of the digital realm SE.RA.PH, and rivals are already circling. Fate/EXTELLA pairs fast hack-and-slash battles with long stretches of reading, told from three heroines' perspectives. Come for the banter, bonds, and a new story by Kinoko Nasu.

   91%91% of 4,107 Steam reviews are positive7Players online now: 7$39.99

7. BlazBlue: Chronophantasma Extend

   

   A 2D anime fighter with a visual novel attached that is almost as big as the fighting itself. You get a long, lore-heavy main story plus a warm school comedy side story, digest recaps of the first two games, and 8 gag episodes, broken up by stylish one-on-one battles with 28 fighters.

   91%91% of 2,386 Steam reviews are positive3Players online now: 3$29.99

8. Gal*Gun Returns

   

   The infamous ecchi rail-shooter is back! Fight back with pheromones as girls throw themselves at you and try to find true love in less than a day! Discover a beautifully reimagined version of the first game of the series that never came to the west!

   84%84% of 252 Steam reviews are positive3Players online now: 3$49.99

9. Astatos

   

   Leave your influence in your wake as you bring together a broken land in a card-battling adventure filled with gods, heroes, and the instability of yourself and those around you. Play the story, or go online with fellow Crown Mages for tabletop card action.

   82%82% of 303 Steam reviews are positive2Players online now: 2$14.99

10. SC2VN - The eSports Visual Novel

    

    SC2VN is a visual novel about the South Korean StarCraft 2 scene. You play as Mach, a foreign semi-pro trying to make it in eSports who soon learns that success in StarCraft takes more than in-game strategy.

    92%92% of 872 Steam reviews are positive1Players online now: 1Free

11. Wolfstride

    

    Get wrecked in this immature grown-up RPG about a trio of troublemakers stumbling their way through a giant mecha tournament. Repair and upgrade the team’s hand-me-down rig, pick up odd jobs to pay the bills, and battle the best-of-the-best all while running from the regrettable choices of the past.

    88%88% of 785 Steam reviews are positive1Players online now: 1$14.99

12. Sentou Gakuen: Revival

    

    You are one of the students of Sentou Gakuen, a random school in Japan, filled with delinquents, rascals, and of course some good students. How will you spend your days in Sentou Gakuen? Forge your own path in this online interactive Visual Novel, make friends or foes, the choice is yours.

    70%70% of 33 Steam reviews are positive1Players online now: 1Free

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